Networked lighting systems are becoming more advanced and integrated both in the retail and home setting, and are increasingly being used to enhance a user's environment and to improve safety, productivity, enjoyment, and relaxation. Recent advances in light-emitting diode (LED) technology have provided efficient full-spectrum lighting sources that enable a variety of lighting effects, including variations in color, intensity, and direction, for a wide variety of applications.
Some of these networked lighting systems feature one or more light sources, including one or more LEDs capable of producing different colors, as well as a controller for independently controlling the output of the LEDs in order to generate a wide variety of intensity, color, and color-changing lighting effects. The controller transmits commands to the one or more light sources over the wired or wireless communication medium of the lighting system to set or adjust, for example, the lighting effects. These commands can be addressed to one light source within the networked lighting system, or can be addressed to multiple light sources within the system.
It is often desirable to illuminate an environment or object to create sufficiently bright lighting effects, to accentuate or emphasize with directional lighting effects, or to create a pleasing presentation with colored lighting effects. For example, many still-photography cameras utilize flash units, a light source that outputs a controlled pulse of light in response to a signal from a controller. Similarly, many video cameras utilize a bright light source to illuminate an object, person, or scene being recorded. The flash unit or bright light source is typically mechanically attached to the camera or recording device for illumination of the object, person, or scene being photographed. Optionally, the flash unit or bright light source can be positioned some distance away from the camera in addition to, or instead of, a flash unit mechanically attached to a camera.
The flash unit or video camera light source receives a signal from a controller to initiate and terminate light output. However, these flash units or light sources are limited in their range of lighting effects, making it difficult to create dynamic light effects in a coordinated fashion. Additionally, the camera or recording device may be limited by both the size and number of flash units or light sources that are available, which can be insufficient in a large or dark space. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for methods of illuminating a target with a variety of lighting effects using a camera or recording device that wirelessly coordinates with a networked light source.